Everything was going well. Im on a 2 weeks half term and im back at school on Tuesday and for most of the 2 weeks I was fine. I wasn’t completely normal but I was stable and was feeling the best that I have since before Christmas. Even on my birthday (because Im having really bad luck at the moment I assumed it would all go bad on my birthday) but then yesterday my downward spiral started.

I was just standing downstairs in my house feeling a little bloated, when I suddenly tasted acid in my mouth. I panicked because it felt like I was going to be sick. Then I got really bad nausea. Then came the tummy upset.

I had been doing so well during the past 2 weeks so why does it have to start up again now? I have school in 2 days and I really cant afford to miss anymore school but if im feeling like I am now I have no chance! My stomach feels weird now. I don’t know whether its emptiness or bloating but it isn’t nice. I had a sort of tummy upset about an hour ago but I don’t understand where its all coming from because I thought it all came out last night. I didn’t have much dinner either because of the way I was feeling (I had bread with honey and then potatoes. Don’t ask me why, its just what I fancied!)Someone suggested to me that maybe when I get bloated its putting pressure on my stomach causing a sort of acid reflux?

Also this may seem weird but when Im hungry I don’t really associate stopping the hunger with putting the food in my mouth. Its like, when im really hungry and I see some food, its looks good but the idea of putting it in my mouth doesn’t feel right. I know that doesn’t really make sense but if anyone could help that would be great.

Anyway, so that was my pleasant day yesterday. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Hi sad,I'm pretty sure I know what you're talking about... I get that sometimes too. I think it could be a combination of things - being bloated and feeling sick due to hunger. Do you ever get empty stomach burps? I get that a lot. When I get really hungry for some reason I feel like I have trapped air in my gut. Then on top of that my stomach gets upset. Lots of people start to feel nauseous if they get hungry and never eat. Some people get headaches too. The reflux is because your body is constantly dumping acids into your stomach. If you're not eating then the acid has nothing to break down and it feels like it's going up into your throat. Heartburn. I've heard "never drink milk when your tummy is upset", however, when I have an empty stomach with nausea and heartburn I go straight for a cold glass of milk. It coats my stomach as it goes down and puts out the fire. It works great for me. You may want to just try eating a little something and seeing if it helps you. Maybe some bread or potatoes - something safe and on the light side. I always keep crackers with me so I have something to munch on if I get hungry.Hopefully someone else will be around with their ideas for you. It might be slow today because it's Easter - so don't be discouraged if it takes a little while.Take care.
Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

I find it difficult to tell if im hungry sometimes. My stomach will be saying "feed me" but my head will be saying "hang on you're feeling sick" so its very confusing sometimes. I havnt stopped eating because I know it will make me feel worse. When I feel sick I cant eat or drink anything though :-(

That's why it's good to keep crackers on hand. Not the buttery crap like Ritz, but saltines. Saltines work wonders even when you feel sick sick (not just empty stomach sick). See if you can stuff down a couple crackers... It really will help.Listen to your stomach.Co-Moderator for the IBS Forum

That sounds like my acid reflux! Do you get a sort of gnawing pain underneath your breastbone, and its the feeling like you kinda need to eat but you dont want to because you already feel nauseated!! I know exactly what you feel like. If you are a nervous person like me, you might be taking your anxiety about feeling sick and transferring it through your stomach, which puts you in a vicious cycle. See, I had severe emetophobia(fear of vomiting) and still have a bit of it but not nearly as bad as before. I also had acid reflux, and whenever I got reflux, I would immediatly become panicked and the anxiety made the nausea WORSE. So, whenever you get that feeling, try taking 3 deep cleansing breaths and tell yourself it will be okay. If that fails, try like everyone else said and sip tea and nibble some crackers. Also try to distract yourself. It'll help take your mind off it. :)

Acid causes gas and the cycle begins. I know everyone is different but milk products are the biggest acid producers there are in the long run according to my Dr. They may give temporary relief and years ago that is what they gave for ulcers and gastritis till they found that in most people it made it worse so be very careful before you take milk. If it works great but dont' be surprised if it doesn't work or makes it worse. If you are the least bit dairy sensitive which I have become it will knock me down for days. For nausea I found that ginger capsules work really well and do not cause heartburn and also Pepto Bismol. It does sound almost like it could have been bile. This sure is a difficult thing to have as everyone is so different and it seems we are just sort of left to our own experimentation because of that.

My gall bladder used to do that to me (I'm still like that some even now after having it out); I'd just get sort of sick feeling instead of feeling actual hunger. I learned (over the course of five years!) to just eat a little something and see if that didn't make my stomach feel some better. If I felt better (or at least not worse), then I would have a meal. I agree that if you have a lot of stomach acid (or bile) sitting on your stomach, it will make you feel nauseated, even though what you really need is to put something on it.

I've never heard that about milk and upset stomachs; my mother always treated her acid reflux with milk and milkshakes, if she could get them. Slim Fasts helped settle my stomach. You might want to start with milk or something like that and if you get to feeling better, eat some solid food. Try to graze throughout the day and not let your stomach stay empty or you'll get the acid back again. Like Canyonbabe suggested, you can also take a swig of Pepto to cut the acid and settle the stomach before eating.

If you look up most sites on the causes of IBS you will see that they state dairy as being one food that should be omitted. My Mother had gastric ulcers which then they did not know how to treat them. She was put on a milk diet to "calm" them. It made the gas so bad that she was doubled over in pain day after day and just told to drink more milk. for that matter she was given pure cream. Yuck. Anyway, she eventually had a gastric resection. I was surprised when my gastro Dr. told me that milk is a big producer of acid and I related the story of my Mom. He said that was not known then. I always knew it caused bloating but didn't realize it caused acid which caused gas. I have polps in my duodenum and was told it was from too much acid and the milk part was brought up again. so no milk for me. They are not regular polyps but I have forgotten the name.

I should probably note that my mother's problem was a weak valve from the stomach to the esophagus (I think the spinchter?) and that's why she got reflux. Not too much acid and not IBS. So just because it helped her wash the acid back down into her stomach doesn't mean that it won't make people with IBS worse. Even when I drank Slim Fasts to calm my stomach, it was from getting bile in there from my bad gall bladder, not from IBS.

I guess they used to prescribe milk because I think it in and of itself is the opposite of acidic (can't think of the proper term at the moment), so I guess people thought that would balance it out. But milk has fat and fat generates bile, which is a type of acid. So I can see how it can make some people worse.